Mutual
by ScoreCounter
Summary: After a strange intervention, Joshua finds himself at a bizarre crossroads. Continue as Composer? Retire? Become human again? No matter what, he want to pick Neku up on that invite - but there is a wall in the way. In the end, Neku realises - He can't forgive Josh. Even in a million years, no matter what... but, both him and Joshua mutually smile... it is the best case scenario.
1. Exemplar

**Disclaimer: TWEWY Belongs to Square Enix, People.**

**Mutual**

**Chapter 01: Exemplar**

Sanae followed the Composer up to the Higher Plane, almost expecting to immediately be chained, carted off to some random execution chamber, and be reduced to a RG form- or, perhaps, worse. Well, he could become a puppy – that wouldn't be terrible, but… ugh, embarrassing. However, what he wasn't expecting was for the more powerful of the Angels to immediately formally welcome the two of them in. Beyond that, inviting him to an audience with `god knows who`, whatever that meant, and to be provided with ample accommodation for the time being.

To Joshua, the example was even more flagrant… actually, was it? After all, at least he actually secured the Angel's permission before breaking the rules. Even if there was likely uninformed repercussions involved, he went for it anyway – and undue hastiness was frowned upon, so… was this exactly countable as `due`? Perhaps… then again, perhaps not.

So, whoever had wanted the audience wasn't going to arrive for some time yet – which was absolute idiocy, really, since anyone Angel up could basically warp – right? That's how he remembered things working… And, in addition… there was that invite. Oh, that damned invite. He really wanted to go and see Neku, he really did – in fact; he could almost count his dear proxy as a friend now. Could he? What is this whole friendship business about anyways? It had been a while now. But hey, worth a shot, right? Except – well, he felt that there was definitely a rule forbidding continued contact with players – or restricting it at least. And usually he was so eloquent with words. Oh well. Like it matters too much.

After all, did Neku really want to see him again – after all, he wasn't at all forgiven for what he did. And, well, killing someone once is often not something often forgiven easily – the Composer smiled. Irony is such a pathetic thing to laugh about, but people laugh nonetheless. He went to move to another room, realising just how tall he was. This adult Angel guise was a little unwieldy – actually, to be frank, he looked older than he actually was. He was made Composer at sixteen, making him about… twenty, all told. But, from an actual perception, since angels don't exactly age, he was, for all intents and purposes, sixteen. Well, at least trying wouldn't be as awkward. Well, if said visitors weren't – his train of thought was interrupted by a large knock at the door. However all-powerful Angels are, they still have to be polite. "Yoshiya." It was a low, male voice, that of one of the theoretical generals. "Your visitors are ready."

… Standing outside the door, both of them obviously having the same question on their heads - `who is it that we are visiting?` Not in so many words, but you get the general gist. However, coming from the inside of the room, was a quiet music. Not as if introducing, or as if they had been kept waiting for too long, but a point between the two – rehearsing in front of them, giving the privilege of watching them – but, obviously, having the rehearsal in the first place. Joshua immediately glanced at the sheet the first chance he got. `Into the Raging Docks`… strange title, for a piece of music that was one of the calmest things ever, but… things often are with music. All of a sudden, there was a violent metal-on-metal tapping, The woman at the stand was smiling, but also glaring at the percussionist in the corner. "Nice to see your enthusiasm." It did sound incredibly honest, but the comment itself was so sarcastic it wasn't funny. But, she was smiling honest in addition, so two out of three would make sense, no? Or, at least, that's what the drummer seemed to think. He smiled nervously, knowing full well that he had hit the bass just a smidgen to loud – closer to _pp _than the correct _ppp._ Only just though – and on any bass instrument, it's difficult enough. The woman stepped down from the podium, and walked in front of her two guests. "Nice to see you. I take it you are the two people involved in the Shibuya Game, as people around here are insisting on calling it?"  
Joshua picked up on that – easily. "Yes… but what are you calling it, may I ask?"  
"Codename Redelegation. We use our own words, not those of language."  
Both of them looked over the woman carefully, attempting not to cause distress. She was quite peaceful in her expression, and rather… young, but mature. About twenty two, but yet, had this air of being much older surrounding her. Her eyes were a rather basic blue, her blonde hair rolling down her neck, just reaching her shoulders, all behind her ear line.

"Now, shall we proceed? I'm not all that busy right now, but the other supervisor is, and I need to inform him in the details before he leaves. Please, follow me. " She walked past the other musicians, whom were casing their instruments, through to a small conference room, closing the door behind her. Sanae, unlike him, looked nervous, but that's not to say the general feeling was joyful. However, in the smallest of tones, Joshua did note one of the most important things known to man.  
"C'mon, Sanae. It's rude to keep a lady waiting."

Once they were both sat down, she started speaking at quite a rate. "To ensure maximum efficiency in this session, partly because it will bore me otherwise, I will not accept questions until I am finished. Assuming that is clear, I will introduce myself. Firstly, you should be aware that there is a plane above yours, the home of the Celestials. We oversee all dimensions an universes, and, for the most part, stay put. I am Celestial One, Amaterasu, Lady Nature. One of our assistants brought the matter of Redelegation to our knowledge, and we assessed the situation. Keeping a close eye on the topic, we decided that due to the exemplary performance by the pair of you, that we should intervene in the matters, and ensure that the punishment is waived, despite the flagrant rule-breaking involved.

"The reason for this is multiple – we – as in me and my colleague – have decided that the removal of your contributions would be naught but a detriment to this universe and the Omni-sphere as a whole, particularly when it was noted it would immediately rule you out from being applied to further use in the further after-life. In addition, it would break the Code Of Conduct, created at the time of the Reawakening…  
_Should circumstances arise in which there is an imminent threat to an area, socially, spiritually, or physically, anyone who has the ability to prevent such an event must do so, even if it breaks other rules of conduct.  
If the biorhythm of a single area is provably damaged beyond repair, and is in such a way that leaving it would cause collateral damage to other areas, then, after a thorough investigation, the area may be reset to a fresh state – All matter in that area being removed._

Put simply, you both followed procedural guidelines. So, for now, you are expected to continue along in your regular routines. However, I do have additional news about this universes rules for one Yoshiya Kiryu. I must inform you that, as you know, contact with players in the RG is prohibited – however, due to his position as your Proxy, this rule is no longer upstanding. When he reaches a point where there is nothing between you spiritually, you will be able to contact eachother easily. Also, you have composed 48 Games, not including the last one. Upon composing your 50th game, you will be allowed to return to the RG if you so wish, or simply retire. Looking at you, I assume there are no questions." She paused, allowing silence into the room. "Good. Now, I need to sort things out with my friend." And with that, in no flash of light, or obvious transition, she turned around, disappearing. Both Angels sat there, wondering what to do…

Meanwhile, Neku waited outside Hachiko, also wondering, wandering… did he want to meet Josh again? He thought about it – no matter how stressful it or the fact he was an asshole was – the week that he spent with Joshua was the most – eye opening, … enjoyable. If there were anyone that he could be compared to, it would be a lop sided Janus – but what side is it lopsided on? And the whole double killing thing – how could that be described as trusting… Then again, there was that little voice in the back of his head at the time… "He won't actually **kill ** you, Neku…" And now, there was that voice again, although now a bit closer to his voice… "_I… didn't want to do that…"_


	2. Divisive

**Mutual**

**Chapter 02: Divisive**

The scene? A small room, that of a teenaged boy, quite obviously so, in fact. And three – no, four pictures, seated pride of place on the bedside cabinet. The first three were ones that you'd expect him to have – all taken outside one of the Sunshine Bars- not that it matters which one – pictures with Beat, Rhyme, and Shiki, in that order. And, I do indeed mean Shiki, not Eri… now that would be deeply disturbing. However, the third and final picture in the set was impossible.

… You see where I'm coming from already, don't you? In some random street, there was a professionally taken photo of Joshua and Neku, smiling in one of their more… placid, moments. What was even stranger was that both smiles were actually honest – in fact, some – like I, would go to say that Joshua's smile almost seemed… regretful.

Now, please, permit me to go on a Dickensian tangent a little bit here. What is with people who possess sight of this universe, who seem to think that Joshua is incapable of feeling true happiness? He, is, or was at least, a human being, and beyond that, all beings are capable of feeling happiness. And so are Gods, I mean – The Lord, Amerterasu, Palutena, to name but a few. However, I would not like to seem so rude – however, my hands are even less worthy than the man himself, so allow me to empathically repeat, that Marley was as dead as a doornail.

Or, rather, that Joshua's smile, strangely, seemed honest… and regretful.

Only slightly regretful, as was the boy, Neku, whom was sitting on the bed within the room, staring at the photographs. Joshua obviously knew… that this would happen. So, he had that picture taken, because… memories. And, at the end of the day, Neku, whilst still most definitely embittered, was most definitely… intrigued, by the young boy. Well… his young boy image at least. Realising that, at one point at least, he was best friends with a deity – the fact that he was still capable of bring friends with him.

Actually, backpedal that… on third thought… yeah, it wasn't probable, but he was capable of the feat. Only just, but nonetheless. It would be idiotic to use any of the four deadly words : Nice, Lovely, Always, and Never. In my opinion, those are four words that must be reserved – in fact, I'd prefer to **never **use the second word. Hmm… Screw the rules, I make them. Which is what Neku was theorising right now, actually – just what rules was Joshua bound by? Neku was willing to bet that it wasn't many... either that, or an extraneously high number. Either/or.

Since when did Neku care anyway? Oh, yeah, since Joshua shot him. Not the first time, but it was definitely that second bullet that caused all of this change.

_**Meanwhile, In the Universe of the Celestials:**_

"I thought you didn't have time for breaks." Lady Nature was looking at her half-partner, so named due to his current flirtatiousness with someone in his designated universe.  
"I didn't. But, well, I didn't have a real assistant, didn't I? And, hey! You! Reading my words! Seriously, I ain't important! I am not getting involved in this!"  
"Then why are you here. `Lord Change`?"

"Well… I wanted to give Joshua an idea." He let his blue hair fall down, laughing at the parallel he pointed out.  
"… What have you got planned?"

"…He'll have a pen, in his hand, a piece of paper staring back, and he'll write, like a man, set all their lives, back on track." Lady Nature sighed.  
"You loved that song, didn't you…"

Joshua was sitting in the Room of Reckoning, flicking through some random music, until the one just mentioned popped up, and… well… Inspiration and Imagination are oft intertwined.

Neku Sakuraba,

I must ask, first… why do you want to see me again?  
Trust me, the feelings mutual, but… Well, I can't but help but feel like you're forgetting something? You should hate me, right? I mean, it's rare someone is able to even bear a grudge against someone who killed them, right? So… is that why you want to see me? Vengeance? Then again, it wouldn't be that I don't deserve it. However, unfortunately… my dear… This is proving to be rather a… stumbling block, shall we say. Because… it turns out that, even though I would usually be able to see and talk to you whenever I liked…

You're not quite my proxy. Because… you didn't pull that trigger. Because… that's what I would have done in that position. And that's what proxy means. "Substitute." But, I can try and talk to you –but… not at Hachi. Sorry, but… well, unlike some of your thoughts, I do have rules to play by.

I would be lying if it were to be said I weren't anxious, but…

_He stopped writing. How should he carry on? After all he still had'nt decided on a location. Where could he meet Neku, and with no-one seeing, and with no danger… he looked around himself. He smiled a little. Well, the solution was obvious._

There's a keypin for the river in this package. Meet me at my room… we won't be able to talk for long, or about too much… Because, as I said, rules. But, none the less… meet me there, Neku, won't you?

_**Notes: Sorry about the short chapter, but I felt I couldn't write this any longer. Say what you will… if you hate it, I'd seriously rather know.**_


	3. Writing On The Wall

_**Mutual  
Chapter Three: Writing On the Wall**_

Again… same rooms… same photos… same boy… but, something new, similar to last time, in a sense, and yet, something new; obviously, summation of the previous… a room, and a letter. The boy was tightly clenching on to the letter, hanging on every word, slowly and carefully. He held the pin in his hand, tossing it, his peripheral vision slowly tracing its path. The fact that the pin was sent in the first place was proof that it would work on the wall… But, why should it, after all… Joshua was perceptive… hate would be … logical. But, then again, Neku was no longer one to listen to logic… his ears were definitely more rounded. So… even for a single try, it might have actually been worth it. So… what would happen? It was almost as if everything, once more, rested on the spin of a coin – albeit unbiased this time.

So… he made his decision. He picked up his phone (as in, mobile telecommunications device), and punched in a number he knew belonged to… Ah, you thought I was going to say Shiki there, didn't you? Well, I'm afraid I must disappoint you… or indeed not… I'm going Dickensian again, aren't I? Back to the actual subject, the phone to his ear was trying to get in contact with Rhyme. However young she was… well, if The Long Game were an actual game, it would be clear that she would win. After all:  
_Any Games are designed to be a test of imagination, of character and of a person's morality, to a lesser extent. Any extraneous details beyond this are not only unessersary, but in circumstances where such a detail can lead to a Player's Erasure, is also illegal (Particularly if it exploits the `seven minutes` rule).  
_However, of course, it couldn't be helped.  
_If any of the main sanctions are broken by someone other than the Composer, then it is the Composer's responsibility to rectify and inflict correct punishment. If, for some reason, the Composer is not present, then the sanctions should be considered legal until the Composer returns (at which point, they can afflict punishment in regards to…)_

Not that Neku knew any of this, but that matters not. The phone was quite quickly answered.  
"Hey… is that Neku?" Well, one learns to be cautious, when people give out their numbers.  
"… Hey, Rhyme… I… *sigh*… can I ask you something?" Well, at least he asked eventually.  
"Yup! What is it! I dunno if I can help as much as bro, or Shiki, but…"  
"… Y'know how I asked Joshua to meet us at Hachiko, right?" A murmur of agreement echoed down the line. "… well… he said that he couldn't, but… I could meet him at the … well, river…"  
"… You can get there, right?" Neku took his turn to grunt his approval. "Then, do you want me to walk you too wherever he is?" Neku took a few moments to consider this. She wouldn't be able to follow him in, likely… but, then again, she would be able to provide… ample distraction… ad who knows, that may be just what was needed.  
"… Hachiko, right?"

The conversation between them was quiet – peaceful… nothing that either of them said was enough to bring about dislike on the other's part. They talked about the most minor of things, like their pin sifting tactics, steering clear of Tin Pin, although not Ten Pin, and other random… things. And, it would be remiss to say that Neku didn't think of this as a tactic. Y'know, wait for a while, until Joshua was calm enough to be able to talk about those things himself. Continuous questioning would get him nowhere, after all. However, soon, there was the door. Neku pondered the name for a few seconds… Room of Reckoning. It wasn't even as if it were punctuated with a big old `The` at the beginning… character limits, unlikely. Rhyme was standing there, still smiling. She knew it would be too intrusive to enter the room, but… she did what she could. It wasn't even as if there was a giant creaking or slamming of a door. Or a click. Or a whisper.

Silence.

Joshua was sitting on his throne, Neku could tell. And, most likely, still a child. Surrounded by a translucent barrier, looking through, but still smiling, warmly, but slightly smugly, secretively. He picked up his phone, tapping furiously.

_You came, Neku. Don't panic; feel free to talk to me. Rules, as you'd expect – would you?  
_Neku smiled. At least, for once, he was making a blatant attempt to consider, and stop assuming things about the other. "Well… I don't know what to say, Josh… I would ask about the rules, but… why?"  
The words appeared in white paint on the floor. _Why, Neku? Isn't that a simple question? Not to mention it's a fragment. But… I suppose I could explain. _  
The arrow pointed towards the wall, where Neku looked at in shock. Slowly, but surely, words appeared in a refined font, but not so that made it difficult to read at all.

_It's all to do with who we are. I'm Composer, and you're a living player. You're alive, and I'm dead. But, the thing is, you were, at one point at least, my proxy. And, that means I can keep in touch with you a little. However… I suppose that's not the only reason. _The writing stopped, suddenly, prompting Neku to look over. Joshua looked pensive. However, he quickly noticed the stare, and grinned, showing all of his teeth – well-kept admittedly. However, he made it obvious with a red feathered quill that he was continuing to write.  
_It's also the fact that all four of those games were declared… invalid. So, you are, to an extent, a normal human being. However… you're here now. I've been told that… we need to play a game. The same one as last time, Neku. One…_

Neku snapped his eyes back, Joshua crying slightly this time. His hand was shaking, but still holding a revolver, six shot, in his left hand. His right was still tapping away, writing down. Three seconds. Neku's eyes scrambled around the room, finding a similar weapon behind him. That voice in the back of his head was encouraging him again. 'Please, Joshua… be immortal, for the love of…' His thought train was cut short, as the next thing he knew… an explosion. What sounded like shattering glass? And the recoil threw him back.

And then… "Neku? Neku… Oh, Neku!" The third time was sung in a sing song voice.  
"What the heck, you bastard…" Joshua giggled, audibly.  
"Didn't you know? There was an entry fee for your last game with me, Neku. It was strange, really… it was your connection to that photo that triggered it, methinks." His voice was not quite concerned, but quite explanatory, and calm. "But, it was your interaction with your opponent. But… the game never ended. It isn't over until someone dies. And you completed the game, Neku. You went to shoot me, which… is what I wanted. So… welcome back, proxy. Neku finally looked up at the boy, still surrounded but some kind of force field, but smiling. "Y'know, can you cope for seven days... I'm not sure I can, but… well, Rhyme's been waiting for you. Noise symbols suddenly covered the disadvantaged boy, and then… since Joshua was no longer in the mood for conversation, it seemed… he blacked out. The next thing he knew, he woke up in his room again. However, there were two differences. Rhyme's and Josh's photo's had notes in them now.  
_Y'know Neku… I enjoyed going down to that room with ya! I think we should talk more often. Oh, and I'm organising bowling in a few days, yeah!  
Neku, Neku, Neku… Come back next week will you? I might have something you'll like… oh, and good luck with that game. I've only ever managed 8 frames in a row! ~~~~ Joshua._


End file.
